


What Could Have Been (Lost)

by Twigs Like You (GothAlbinoAngel)



Category: Pitch Perfect (Movies)
Genre: F/F, Lemonade Mouth - Freeform, Mild Blood, Mild Profanity, Near Death Experiences, Nightmares
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-14
Updated: 2020-03-14
Packaged: 2021-02-28 17:21:30
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,689
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23130859
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GothAlbinoAngel/pseuds/Twigs%20Like%20You
Summary: “Emily!” Chloe asked almost breathlessly. “Emily, can you still hear me?”“What thehell, man!” Cynthia Rose snapped. “You said every ten minutes!”“There needs to be an initial punishment for being late,” the kidnapper shrugged nonchalantly. “Consider this her initial warning shot. And besides, the girl will live… if she gets treated soon.”
Relationships: Emily Junk/Beca Mitchell
Comments: 8
Kudos: 52





	What Could Have Been (Lost)

**Author's Note:**

> I can't participate in Bemily Week because I didn't know it was a thing until early this morning, so instead, I'll just post the two (maybe three?) Pitch Perfect ideas I had pop in my head and go from there.

The tension was thick in the air, mingling heavily with the smell of salt water. The rocking of the boat, usually something that would calm her, only served to make her stomach twist uncomfortably. She was hyper aware of the ticking of a nonexistent clock, counting down the seconds until their inevitable demise. Her heart hammered in her chest. It felt like it was growing with every passing minute, compressing her lungs and making it hard to breathe.

It was supposed to be a nice vacation. Just a regular tour. Yeah, she was disappointed when a competition came up, since that seemed to be the only thing to give the others meaning in their lives, but she went along with it anyway. This, though? Being taken hostage? Some random Australian man brandishing a hypothetical gun at them? Not knowing if she would live beyond this encounter? That was _not_ what she signed up for.

As they passed the five minute countdown mark, she glanced around to her fellow Bellas. These girls had been her friends, even if only slightly. They’d given her a sense of belonging she had been missing for so long. The Bella sisterhood extended beyond blood ties, beyond distance, it was a community, a family. They were all connected no matter what happened. Honestly, she would write that into a song if there was a guarantee they would live. Since that guarantee was not definite, songwriting could wait.

“Stop that tapping.” Their kidnapper’s voice cut into her thoughts and she froze up. She’d been tapping a beat at the floor in an effort to distract herself. Music was a distraction, a calming effect. However, being stressed was far more acceptable if it kept her alive longer.

A small alarm beeped from the kidnapper’s watch and he sighed. “She’s late,” he muttered. “Honestly, I would have thought she cared a little more.” He stood and faced them. “No matter, for every ten minutes she’s late, she’ll just have to lose a pretty little friend.”

Did that mean he wasn’t going to hurt them yet? A gunshot rang out and she flinched at the sound. Or perhaps from the _unbelievable agony_ ripping through her stomach. Holy _balls_ , what _was_ that? She gave a scream, clutching at the area to try and stifle the pain. Her fingers were hot and sticky. What? Why would…?

The other girls panicked around her, Chloe reaching over quickly to steady her. Whoa, she was in, like, _a lot_ of pain. Pulling her hand back, she found red staining her fingers. Did she spill something?

“Emily!” Chloe asked almost breathlessly. “Emily, can you still hear me?”

“What the _hell_ , man!” Cynthia Rose snapped. “You said every ten minutes!”

“There needs to be an initial punishment for being late,” the kidnapper shrugged nonchalantly. “Consider this her initial warning shot. And besides, the girl will live… if she gets treated soon.”

The conversation sounded kinda hazy. Who was injured? What happened? Chloe’s face blurred around the edges. “Chloe?” she mumbled in confusion.

“Hey, hey, don’t talk,” Chloe told her. “Ashley, can I-.” A piece of torn fabric was thrust at her and she gave a breath of relief. “Thanks so much. I owe you.”

Chloe worked quickly, tearing her shirt at the abdomen and pressing the torn fabric from Ashley into the wound area. A sharper, more acute pain resonated through her body and another scream tore up her throat. Oh. _She_ was injured. That sucked. He must’ve shot her. That sucked too.

In the midst of the chaos, another voice came through, one she thought she’d never hear again. “Hey, babe, you’re okay,” it cooed. “You’re gonna be okay. Just stay with us.”

“Where the _fuck_ did you come from?” Chloe hissed. It was hidden under the other girls panicking over the gunshot or throwing insults at the kidnapper. She probably wouldn’t have even heard it if she wasn’t so close to Chloe in the first place.

“I’ll explain later. Just act like I’ve been here the whole time, alright?” God, that voice was so soothing and… good. It was everything good. If Beca was nearby, nothing could be wrong. That was just a fact of life. It wasn’t _true_ , since disaster tended to only strike her when Beca was involved, but still. Beca was _good_.

Her vision was gradually fading. That… probably wasn’t good. “Stay with us, babe,” Beca begged. “Come on, baby girl, just hold on a little longer. You can do it.”

Hold on to what? Is she supposed to be holding on to something? She couldn’t feel her fingers, so she probably had stopped gripping whatever she was supposed to hold. Weird, were the other girls quieting down? They sounded lower. Like… volume-wise. Wow, she was going to have to figure out how they did that gradual decrease. She was so hyperactive, she felt like she only had two modes. Did she? Yeah, probably.

“No, no, no!” someone said frantically. “She’s lost too much blood, she needs aid _now_!”

And then there was… breaking glass and… screaming. Was that Amy? Arriving in a blaze of glory like always. Honestly, she wished Amy didn’t hate her guts so much or she’d tell her how cool she was. Cause that was really cool. And… also the last thing she saw before her vision faded completely. The last thing she heard was someone screaming her name for some reason.

_“EMILY!”_

Emily shot up with a gasp. Her eyes swiveled around, trying to ascertain her location. She wasn’t rocking, she was stable, so no boat. The lighting was dim, so no overhead fluorescents. Okay. Okay. Cool. Her hand flew to her stomach, checking to see if there was anything there. No bandages, no torn shirt, no bullet hole. She… she was okay.

Concerned blue eyes drifted into her line of sight and Emily turned quickly. Beca stared at her, obviously worried. Her hand rested on Emily’s shoulder and her thumb rubbed calming circles into the area where Emily’s arm and collarbone met.

“Babe, you good?” Beca whispered. “You… you had me worried there.”

“Um, yeah,” Emily replied hoarsely. She swallowed. “Yeah, I’m fine. I just… had a bad dream.”

Beca sat back with a sigh and pulled Emily in close. Even though Emily was more than a head taller than her, she still cuddled Emily to her chest and cradled her. “Was it Worlds or USO?”

“USO,” Emily responded.

“Competition or kidnapping?”

“Kidnapping.”

Beca nodded to herself. She leaned down to press a kiss into Emily’s hair. “You’re safe now, babe,” she cooed gently, stroking her fingers through Emily’s lush brown hair. “You’re safe, and alive, and he can never hurt you again. No one got hurt. You’re okay.”

Emily tried to believe those words. Beca had arrived before the time limit. Amy had risked her life to save them all from her deranged father. No one got hurt. No bullets to the stomach, no watching her friends die in front of her, none of that. Everything is fine.

“I just… sometimes it comes back,” she whispered. “And I… I wonder what could have happened…”

“But what _could_ have happened didn’t,” Beca pointed out. “Everything was okay in the end. You got off the boat before he could hurt anyone, you graduated school, you make music…”

“And I got to marry my music hero,” Emily finished with a soft laugh.

Beca joined her and leaned down to press another kiss to her hair. “Exactly. You’re okay, babe. Now and forever. I promise.”

And Emily believed her. Beca was there when she thought she was alone. Beca would be there forever. They had each other’s backs. With a soft sigh, Emily finally began to relax.

“Beca?” she asked.

“Yeah, Legs?” Beca hummed.

“Sing me back to sleep?”

Beca thought for a moment before lyrics came to mind. She changed the tempo and pitch to match something along the lines of a lullaby. With a deep breath, she opened her mouth.

_We will walk out of this darkness  
Feel the spotlight glowin’  
Like a yellow sun, whoa oh oh  
And when we fall we fall together  
Til we get back up and we will rise as one_

She held the note a little longer than the song had. Since it was a lullaby, she wanted to make sure it would soothe Emily rather than keep her awake.

_We’re gonna let it show  
We’re gonna just let go  
Of everything  
Holdin’ back our dreams  
And try  
And make it come alive  
Come on let it shine  
So they can see  
We were meant to be  
Somebody_

Beca leaned down to nuzzle Emily’s hair and heard the smallest tired giggle from her wife. “We were meant to be,” she whispered. “Somebody.”

Soft snores greeted her ears when she falls silent and Beca smiled. Shifting carefully so that she didn’t reawaken Emily, she moved into a more comfortable position and wrapped her arms more securely around her snoozing wife.

Honestly, Beca flashed back to that night pretty often, too. It was the night she could have lost everything. Not just her career, not just the family she’d found with her fellow Bellas, and not just a new leather jacket that she'd barely broken in during the tour. No, it was the night she could’ve lost the ray of sunshine love of her life. If Amy had been too early or too late, or her dad had just decided to call off the deal on a whim, Beca could have lost Emily.

That was unacceptable. For every day afterward, Beca didn’t take Emily for granted. Yeah, she was tall (and teased Beca about it) and still just as awkward as the day of her Bellas audition, but she was… she was _Emily_. Smiling, innocent, pure-hearted Emily. Beca still had no idea how she’d managed to marry _Emily_ , but she sure as hell wouldn’t waste it. Not even when Emily purposefully put her coffee on the top shelf just so she had a reason to be awake early and get it off the shelf again while stealing a quick hug from Beca.

**Author's Note:**

> Honestly, this is the tamest fic I have for this fandom so far. Not sure how to feel about that... also not sure what my personal definition of 'tame' is. Anyway, I hope you liked this!


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